The Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price fell into negative territory again today.
At one point, shares in Australia's fifth largest bank were trailing as much as 1.71% to an intraday low of $160.72.
However, a slight recovery towards the backend of the day has the share finish 0.92% lower to $162.01 on Tuesday.
For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Financials (ASX: XFJ) also headed south by 0.3% to 5,933.6 points.
Evidently, this dragged down shares in Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC).
They retreated by 0.19%, 0.34%, and 0.57%, respectively.
On the other hand, it is the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price that closed in the green, up 0.48%.
Let's take a look at why Macquarie shares lagged behind the other ASX 200 banks today.
Image source: Getty Images
Why did Macquarie shares fare worse than the other ASX 200 banks?
A catalyst for Macquarie shares performing worse than its peers today appeared to be the company's asset management arm shutting down its listed Asian equities business.
According to The Australian, the investment bank has closed down the unit due to the gloomy economic outlook.
Last week, Macquarie Asia New Stars No. 1 Fund stopped accepting applications and redemptions with management fees no longer charged.
The capital that was accumulated before this time is set to be distributed to investors over several instalments.
Ratings investment house, Zenith, felt let down by the outcome, saying:
Despite the longevity of the Macquarie Asia New Stars No. 1 Fund being a key concern, we remain disappointed with the termination of the product, as we held a high opinion of the experienced investment team.
This comes after the Macquarie Asia New Stars No. 1 Fund recorded a poor performance amid a challenging economic environment. Returns came at a loss of 20.4% for the year ended August 31.
While the closure is in response to prevailing market conditions, it is believed that this won't have any effect on Macquarie's broader equities business.
Macquarie share price snapshot
Adding to Tuesday's losses, it's worth noting that Macquarie shares are now down more than 6% in a week.
On top of the already tough month, the Macquarie share price is down 21% in 2022.
Based on today's price, the company commands a market capitalisation of roughly $63.2 billion.
